The present invention relates to a process for the teledistribution or remote distribution of recorded information or data and to a system for performing this process.
The scope of the application relates to the teledistribution of musical works, such as read literature works (novels, short stories, essays, plays, etc.), musical works with commentaries, literary works read with background effects, news, courses, conferences, etc. However, the preferred sphere of application is in the teledistribution of recorded musical works. Thus, although this is in no way limitative, it is the example which will be referred to hereinafter.
Listening to recorded music essentially involves the use of disks and cassettes. By their very nature, these means make it necessary for the music lover to previously acquire a recording from a shop. Thus, the desire to listen to a particular work can only be satisfied with a time lag.
This naturally does not apply to recordings already in one's possession, but, despite the interest of acquiring a record library, difficulties are encountered, as is known by all music lovers. Apart from the high cost of a collection of this type, certain recordings deteriorate to such an extent that they become inaudible and in other cases interest in a particular recording is quickly lost and it is consequently not played. Thus, it merely encumbers the record library so that the latter, despite its size, does not always provide complete satisfaction.
Moreover, certain recordings have become so rare that only the minority who acquired them in time, either by taste, or by design, can listen to them. Thus, these musical works are unavailable to the general public, which cuts down the choice of available musical recordings.
In spite of the quality of music broadcast by radio or television, it must be accepted that it does not always correspond to the listener's taste or his wishes at a particular moment.
Thus, there is a real need for a distribution system for musical works, which obviates the aforementioned disadvantages, i.e. which is able to make almost instantaneously available to the music lover the musical work of his choice.
There would appear to be no solution to this problem. Thus, listening to a musical work presupposes the possession of a recording and the latter can only be obtained in two ways, by acquiring a previously recorded support, or by recording it on a tape recorder. In both cases, there is a necessary delay. In the case of recording the work, the delay is short, but is at least as long as the duration of the work. This delay can be an hour or more in the case of operas, symphonies, etc. It would therefore appear to be impossible to reduce this delay.